The mystery package and what to use these weights for!

I promised you to reveal the contents of a package that arrived from the UK last week.  So, here it is:

Nope, there is no fancy fabric! What you see here is premium quality tie interfacing and two types of lead weights!

The supplies come from MacCulloch & Wallis, a great UK-based tailoring supplies store and the only one I could find that sells quality tie interfacing. But more about ties later this month.

I wanted you to have a look at these weights! I have to admit - it will be my first! And I am going to use them for my linen skirt vent. It should help to prevent the vent from spreading too wide and standing stiff open after a while. I don't know how about you, but my skirt vents look very unsightly after just half a day in the office.

Lead weights are reportedely used in couture to weight vents or hems, especially for evening gowns. It is one of the heaviest metals on this planet and quite affordable for sewing projects, unless you go for gold or platinum, of course. In addition, lead lends itself well to shaping.  The latter is especially useful, because you will sometimes want to hammer the weight flat, so you can hide it in your hem inconspicuously – just handle it with gloves and a mask to avoid the health hazard, and wash your heads after you finished working with it.

More tips on working with lead: covering the weight in a fabric and sewing it into the hem will help eliminate the risk of lead poisoning, which happens through inhaling or ingesting the hazardous metal. And, of course, lead should be stored in a sealed plastic bag out of reach of children.

Have you used lead weights in your projects? Weighted vent tutorial, anyone?

Yay, a new Giveaway! (with an exciting update!)

(don't miss an exciting update at the end of this post!)

Readers!

Thank you so much for your feedback on my LBD muslin. While I am tinkering with it, here are some new goodies for you! Yes! It is another giveaway!

This is a special giveaway, though, because the tool below has been invented and patented by one of our fellow home seamstresses. Can you imagine?!

Hollie Bell, who lives in Australia, studied engineering many years ago, but then fell into her current career of building loan calculators for mortgage brokers and banks. “I am very lucky that it only takes up five hours a week,” she said. “I love being self-employed and hope never to have a real job again.”

Now, readers, admit, how many of you sympathize with Hollie? (by the way, if you want to pour out your frustration about full-time working, please feel free to do it here! I doubt your employer will look for your comments on my blog.)

Oh, how much I have to say, but back to the subject. Holly is quite an experienced seamstress, readers: she started sewing when she was 12. “I have resurrected my love for sewing in the last few years,” she said. “Although, it’s very hard with two high-maintenance little kids.”

She invented the tool last year, when she was working on a top from Marfy patterns (the ‘notorious’ Marfy patterns - no seam allowances, no instructions…). “I was a bit annoyed at the whole tracing process and my mechanical brain knew there must be a far simpler way.”

The seam allowance guide functions as a magnetic attachment for your scissor blades, which guides your scissors as they cut the fabric at a consistently equal distance from the stitching line.

Hollie has been offering the tool on her website and has received a lot of positive feedback since the launch. “I love starting a project from an idea to seeing it in my hand, and even better when the feedback has been so positive,” she said.

Thank you, Hollie, for offering this unique tool to Frabjous Couture readers! So, here we go, friends! I have one seam allowance guide to give away, and all you have to do for a chance to win is leave a comment here, and, if you like, share with others what’s your most dreaded sewing step.

Good luck!

Of course, I forgot to enter the last day to enter! Shall we say Friday next week? So be it!

The Update!!!  Due to such a positive response, Hollie has generously decided to offer two additional Seam Allowance Guides to Frabjous Couture readers! 


All you need to do to win one of these two additional guides is back-link to this giveaway by using "Links to this post" at the end of the post and then creating the link! (Alternatively, just post a link on your blog and let me know here that you did it!) If you have already commented on this post, you can still back-link to increase your chances to win!



Disclaimer: this is not an advertisement and I am not getting any reimbursement from Hollie for promoting the tool. 

Meet my fitting companion... and the scavenger hunt challenge!

I am done with assembling my muslin for the first LBD fitting (the picture is at the end of the post), but before we proceed to the mystery challenge, I thought I need to share with you something I found extremely valuable throughout my fitting experience (ok, I admit, my fitting experience is a work-in-progress thing). Nevertheless,..

...meet my fitting companion, this Moleskine notebook. It is my best friend when it comes to fitting! And if you want to have one too, here are some suggestions on how to use it:

• Get yourself a nice notebook in an appealing color (I love Moleskines, for example, and if I pick a nice color like red or hot pink, it motivates me to use the notebook more often). So, from now on, this notebook will be your fitting reference!
• Every time you make a new note, write down the date.
• Take your measurements and write them down (don’t forget the date!). 
• Before fitting, put on your regular undergarments (be daring! treat yourself to some very nice underwear). Now, take a picture of yourself from all sides: front, back, left side, right side. The point is to take a look at yourself and your irregularities from a different prospective. I was surprised how much more I discovered through such a picture. Next, paste it on the first page of your fitting notebook (you can also write a note: “I love my body!” - I did - or be even more specific about what you love about your body most!)
• Now, whenever you fit a garment, take pictures from all sides and paste them in the notebook. Make notes, doodle, have fun!  
• Next to the pictures, make a note of what adjustments you made and how. Most likely, you will need the same adjustment many times, so why reinventing the wheel.
• Store you fitted muslins and reference them in your notebook for any similar designs. 

And, finally, my LBD in pre-fitted stage (however, after some crazy adjustments - the pattern was two sizes smaller). 

By the way, please feel free to critique the muslin: the more comments, the merrier! I am in the process of refitting it, and I would love to read what you think. Some comments on fitting are already there, now it's your turn! Treat it as a scavenger hunt challenge! And, please-please-please, no "it looks great" comments - we want to learn together, right? 

And the winner of vintage lace is...

... there are three winners, actually! The fact is I am hoarding a large box of vintage lace I received from my Austrian grandmother-in-law some fifteen years ago. I will never use all of it, so I decided to pick three winners instead of one. Here is the list:

1. harmony and rosie of Harmony and Rosie will get the prize featured in my original post

She said: "I would definitely incorporate it into a garment, I'm currently collecting vintage sewing patterns so it would be fitting to use the lace with one."

2. Etcetorize of Etcetorize : 

"I'm hoping to make a short white peasant dress for summer with lots of lace accents~"

and 3. Bunny of  La Sewista:

"I use lace a lot, usually in children's garments and collect vintage lace as well."

Etcetorize and Bunny will get similar lace from my stash.

To claim your prize, please send me a message to mvk dot fashion at gmail dot com. I apologize for the format, but that's the only more or less effective way to keep away spammers. 

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to everyone who participated - I am really thrilled to have so motivating and inspiring followers!

There will be at least two more giveaways this month, so stay tuned!

One Day left to enter 100 followers vintage lace giveaway!

Two weeks are almost up and tomorrow we will draw the lucky winner of the 100 followers vintage lace giveaway! 

If you haven't entered yet, check out this original post and leave your comment for a chance to win these three pieces of vintage lace.

Good luck!